Beverly Hills 90210 rocked the 90s
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This US TV show was a hit with an entire generation, starring Shannen Doherty, Jason Priestley, Brian Austin Green and Luke Perry. Courtesy CBS TV/Spelling TV

news.com.au

29 Mar 2014

Entertainment/TV

She has a thousand yard stare yet somehow only has eyes for you. Sigh.Source: NewsComAu

IF YOU’RE over 35, and you’re a bloke, you will be in love with Shannen Doherty. This is a given.

So naturally, when the sultry star of the original Beverly Hills, 90210 series was on the line to news.com.au, this was clearly NOT a job for one of our excellent under-35s on the entertainment desk.

Instead, 40-something reporter Ant Sharwood stormed across the room and grabbed the phone. Here’s how that went.

(Warning: this story may have drool on it)

Ant: Shannen, it’s you. I can’t believe it’s you.

Shannen: (awkward silence as she awaits a question to be asked)

Ant: So, er, I just read on Twitter that you feel like a zombie after 26 hours of travel to Australia. Have you dezombified yet?

Shannen: I have, amazingly enough. I went to bed early. I think I was sound asleep by 8.15pm, crashed out cold. I woke up at like 5.15 this morning feeling invigorated.

So this is going to be one of those stories that the gentlemen may enjoy more than the ladies. For this we make no apology.Source: NewsComAu

Ant: Good for you. How was breakfast?

Shannen: I had a croissant and a coffee with cream and sugar.

Ant: How many sugars?

Shannen: Four sugars. But they were little hotel packets. If they were teaspoons they would have been the equivalent of one or two.

Ant: Still doing things your own way, eh? Just like the headstrong Brenda Walsh…

Shannen: No, it just shows that I’m a good sweet girl.

Ant: So why are you here Shannen?

Shannen: Who wouldn’t want to hang out in Australia? Australia is amazing and has some of the coolest people I personally have ever met. Perth is beautiful. I’m here for Ozcomiccon, which is a really amazing experience where you get to meet your fans.

Ant: Well, speaking of Ozcomiccon, they’ve listed all the visiting celebrities on the website and you’re the ninth one I encounter as I scroll down the page. Number nine. Number nine??? I don’t even recognise most of the other people! I think they were hobbits or something. Personally I’m outraged.

Shannen: That makes sense to me. I’m happy if I’m not a headliner. I’m just glad to meet my fans. You know I’ve got a large range, which is testament to all the shows I’ve been on. There are fans of 90210, fans of Charmed, Heathers, Mallrats. They’re a diverse group from eight-year-olds to 70-year-olds.

Ant: So slobbering, balding suburban men like me are somewhere in the demographic middle.

Shannen: Right.

Pass the scuba tanks. We’re just drowning in those eyes...Source: NewsComAu

Ant: Have you ever gone on a date with a fan just to be nice? Can I be the first?

Shannen: Well I’m married.

Ant: Great, me too. So we could go out together with my wife and your husband as a foursome. I could even bring my kids.

Shannen: Sorry my husband’s at home. He’s working.

Ant: I rarely missed an episode of 90210 back in the day. I had just started university and should have been studying but I couldn’t help myself. Was I wasting my time?

Shannen: I don’t think anyone was wasting their time, that show was ahead of its time. I think it was the first show that dealt with teenagers and teenage issues and it was fantastic ‘cause parents could watch it with their kids and open up a conversation that may not have been opened up prior. It still remains a big show for all those reasons, it was different and unique.

Ant: But let’s be honest, the new series of 90210 wasn’t as good. It kinda stank, right?

Shannen: I was in it, so I don’t think it was that bad.

Ant: Um. Well… uh, I guess I mean apart from the episodes you were in.

Shannen: I just think it was so different from the old one ‘cause it was set in a different day and age so the problems kids face now are so different. But I think anytime you redo a show it will be difficult, especially when the show is that huge and popular and iconic. Unless you bring it back with the original cast I think you’re going to suffer. I think the cast was great, but maybe it was a bit too soon.

Ant: And maybe people like me could never enjoy any remake because we wouldn’t be watching it with the same people at the same stage of our lives.

Shannen: Right. 90210 is a time capsule.

The show was a time capsule. The fringe is timeless.Source: NewsComAu

Ant: Hey who was a better kisser, Luke Perry or Jason Priestly?

Shannen: My husband is the best kisser. You know, I don’t even remember kissing anybody else except my husband.

Ant: Let me try this one then. Is your sultry pouting face real? Every time I see a photo of you you’re doing sultry pouting face. Don’t get me wrong. I like sultry pouting face…

Shannen: It probably depends on the mood I’m in. I don’t think I’m consciously making that face but I always look at pictures of me and say ‘oh that doesn’t look good’.

Shannen’s sultry pouting face in all its glory.Source: NewsComAu

Ant: Is that why your Twitpic has your hair covering your face?

Shannen: Yeah, it lets me hide.

Ant: Here’s something I’m even more outraged about. In a poll of the best ever TV witches, you were named at number 10 while your Charmed co-stars were number 7 and 3. Were the people who made that list under a bad spell?

Shannen: That’s probably because they were there for eight seasons and I was there for three, My character Prue would’ve been top if she’d been there for eight seasons.

Ant: You love animals. And now I understand you’re using your powers for good, almost like a good witch.

Shannen: It’s funny, all of a sudden I’m claimed to be not just an animal lover but an activist. I’m a lover of humanity as well. I just want to see the world be the best place it can be. I just have to start with myself, and if I have any influence over someone, that’s great.

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Comments on this story

stacy of beecroft Posted at 2:52 PM March 29, 2014

I am currently watching the reruns of 90210 original. It is as good as when I watched it as a 15 year old back in the day. daggy a bit but a cool daggy!

Helen of Australia Posted at 2:39 PM March 29, 2014

I wasn't a fan of 90210 back in the day but I saw a movie with her in it and she was a really good actress.

Sunshine of Melbourne Posted at 2:35 PM March 29, 2014

Worse piece of journalism I've read in a long time, title was over the top (Man nearly dies?) and the pointless aim of the story was? Self gratifying fluff piece from news.com.au as per usual

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